In Plain Sight
by JulietVargas
Summary: Better Summary Inside. Told in first person diary/letter form after the prologue. Many OCs (capitals and other important cities). Talk of character death. Themes: Tragedy, Loss, Love, Family, Mystery, Secrets, Hope. Main speaker is Juliet Vargas (Verona), but others occasionally take her place. "Death isn't the end for us Juliet...it's just a temporary setback." - Uncle Gil
1. Prologue

(AN: All right so I promised a better summary and here it is:

Two years after the war against the alien invaders has ended, Juliet Vargas begins to see a person, in her sister's city of Venice, that looks like her Father Feliciano who died in the war. Terribly confused and disconcerted of how this could be possible, she decides to keep her discovery a secret. But when she stumbles upon a something strange in her Uncle Gilbert's backyard, she suddenly discovers that she might not be the only one keeping a secret. She's always noticed that Gilbert doesn't seem as upset over the death of his partner Matthew Williams, as he should be...so now a major question pops up in her mind...why does he not seem upset or concerned?...and why does he keep some of Matthew's old clothes hidden under a bush in the backyard? )

"And so the war has finally come to an end and the invaders have been driven back into the void of space from which they came." Mr. Austria's voice rang out over the assembled crowd of countries, capitals, and cities.

A cheer went up from the crowd and I raised my eyes from the pattern the toe of my slipper had lazily been sketching in the dirt. Mr. Austria stood up on a quickly erected platform in the middle of where the final battle had taken place. If you looked just past his head, you could make out the smoke cloud which marked the funeral pyre for both sides. It made my stomach clench as my most painful memory came rushing back into my vision. Papa lying as if asleep on a cold slab of marble, eyes closed and a peaceful smile on his lips. The gaping hole in his chest had been covered up by a bouquet of lilies nestled securely in his clasped hands.

"_Lilies represent sweetness, Juliet. And he was one of the sweetest people I ever met in my long life."_

That was what my Vater had whispered through his tears as he stroked Papa's cold cheek, before laying a gentle kiss on his brow.

Those same emotions of sorrow I had felt in that moment now came pouring out once more. I clutched at my stomach and sobbed uncontrollably. Beside me, my boyfriend also had tears in his eyes. He too had lost a family member to the war. The end of the war had only come about by the selfless act of his older brother. After the terrible loss of their numbers which occurred because of Arthur's act, it was only a matter of time before the aliens had fled back into space. I knew that Peter Kirkland had every right to feel great pride over his brother's victory. But at the moment, said boy was looking at me with great concern and wiped the tears from his eyes before wrapping me in a tight embrace.

"I know you're thinking about him Jules. I'm thinking about _jerk_ England after all." He choked on his words but managed to laugh slightly as well.

I nodded and buried my head in his shoulder.

"It hurts Pete. It hurts so much."

He sighed and stroked my hair.

"Do you want to leave Jules? We don't have to listen to the speech if this is going to be too hard for you. Your younger siblings are waiting at home after all. Your Vater will understand if you left right now. He probably wishes he could too."

I was about to nod when Mr. Austria's next words made me freeze.

"And that is why today we will honor those eight countries that were lost to this war. I have asked each of their oldest child to carry their flag down to the river's edge and set them afloat in the current. The order will go in accordance to when each death occurred."

I raised my eyes to the stand in astonishment. Everyone else in the crowd seemed surprised as well. This had not been written in the hastily made program for how Mr. Austria's victory speech would go. It was a complete surprise to everyone, and now I could clearly see that tears were in nearly everybody's eyes. Closest to me, my uncle Antonio was holding his youngest child Sienna tight while both sobbed into each others' shoulders. My cousin Serafino also looked like he wanted to collapse to the ground in tears, a sign of weakness that he and his older sister Roslyn rarely ever showed. I was tempted to go to him but at that moment Mrs. Hungary came through the crowd carrying a black flag and calling out for the crowd to part and give the flag bearers a pathway to the river. In the jostling of the crowd, Peter and I were pushed away from my relatives and found ourselves near the cleared line.

I looked towards the front dais again to find Mr. Austria signaling for silence once more as he took a deep breath and read off the first name.

"Thomas Densson, country of Iceland. Assassinated March 16 2042, the death that sparked this entire war. His flag is carried by his only son Isolf Kousson, capital name of Reykjavik."

A single figure stepped in front of the dais. Despite the tears pouring down his cheeks, Isolf walked down the cleared line proudly with the flag of his Faðir draped over his arms. The gathered crowd bowed their heads in respectful sorrow while he passed before turning their attention back to the dais as Mr. Austria read off the next name.

"Tino Väinämöinen, country of Finland. Died July 3 2043. Stabbed through the stomach while bravely defending adopted sons Peter and Axel. His flag is carried by his older child Forseti Oxenstierna, capital name of Stockholm."

The ritual passed smoothly, with Mr. Austria naming off the country that was being honored and their eldest child carrying the flag down the aisle before joining the other young capitals at the end.

"Toris Laurinaitis, country of Lithuania. Died January 9 2044. Killed by an active bomb while defending the border between Lithuania and Poland. His flag is carried by his older son Patryk Laurinaitis Łukasiewicz, capital name of Warsaw."

"Matthew Williams, country of Canada. Died December 25 2045. Shot through the heart while trying to bring some Christmas cheer to a blockaded portion of his country. His flag is carried by his oldest child Coen Williams Beilschmidt, city name of Saxony."

"Kiku Honda, country of Japan. Died June 20 2047. Killed in the blast that destroyed his fearsome flag ship. His flag is carried by his oldest child Perseus Karpusi, capital name of Athens."

"Feliciano Vargas, country of Northern Italy."

A fresh stab of pain went through my heart and I let out a gasping sob as I looked to the front of the line where my twin brother's waited, holding the Italian flag proudly up between them.

"Died April 19 2049. Shot through the chest by an oversized bullet while defending the rest of his outnumbered army on the outskirts of France. His flag is carried by his twin sons Lorenzo and Laszlo Vargas, capital names of Rome and Berlin."

I could barely see my brother's walking, through the tears that blurred my vision. But I felt Laszlo reach out and gently squeeze my shoulder as he passed. I tried to smile back at him and Lor and found myself able to stand tall as they were, despite my trembling body. Peter wrapped an arm securely about my waist to keep me steady.

Mr. Austria continued when my brothers reached the end of the line; he had two names left to read.

"Lovino Vargas, country of Southern Italy. Died April 19 2049. Shot through the head by a sniper, after successfully taking out half the alien army in revenge for his brother's death. His flag is carried by his oldest child Roslyn Vargas Carriedo, capital name of Madrid."

My cousin Roslyn met my eyes and smiled sadly but proudly as she began walking down the aisle with an Italian flag wrapped around her shoulders like a cloak.

And finally it was time for the last name and the end of the ceremony where the waiting young capitals would lay their parent's flags in the river as the final sign of memorial honor.

Mr. Austria cleared his throat.

"And finally...Arthur Kirkland, country of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Died February 15 2050. Arthur created a vast cloud of magical energy which specifically targeted the aliens that it touched, killing them instantly, but the vast amount of magic required drained him of all energy and at the end, his very life. His flag is carried by his older son Andrew J Kirkland, capital name of London."

Andrew began to make his way down the aisle as all people bowed their respect before the flag he was carrying. I could feel Peter shaking with sobs beside me, but all I could do at the moment to comfort him was to squeeze his hand. He squeezed back and after Andrew had passed, turned to me with a grateful smile.

As Andrew reached the edge of the river where the other flag bearers were waiting we watched as he reverently spread the cloth over the water's surface and let it float away freely. Soon the other 7 flags had joined Britain's and I watched with the rest of the crowd as they floated away on the current, till they were out of sight.

That night, I slept in my parents bed like I hadn't done in years. My younger sister and brother were there too and I'm certain my older brother's would have been as well if they hadn't have been trying to put on a brave face for Vater. To this day, I still honestly couldn't tell you if Vater got any sleep that night. All I know is that he stroked our hair gently and tried to sing a soothing lullaby as we cried ourselves to sleep. The terrible war that had broken the world was finally over, but the pain and loss that inhabited our broken family...that was something that could never disappear.

Yet even now, two years later, every night before I go to sleep, I look out our villa window and hope, and pray, that I'll see a single figure come walking over the meadow to our front door. Auburn eyes bright and shining, and single curl bobbing merrily. And as I fall asleep...I remember the days when that was true. I remember the feel of his arms wrapping around me as I ran barefoot out to meet him. I feel his laughing breath ruffle my hair and hear myself laughing as well and speaking my usual words of welcome.

"I missed you Papa. Don't stay away so long on business ever again!"

And I hear his laughing reply, so comforting and the thing I long to hear most in this world.

"I missed you too my little Juliet. I'm home."


	2. Chapter 05

Chapter 0.5: Journals

This Journal Belongs to Juliet Vargas (Verona)

I Am 8 Years Old (looks)

I Live in 2 Villas one near Stuttgart Germany, and another near Florence Italy 

I Have dirty blond Hair and auburn brown Eyes

My Family Includes Mama, Papa, twin older brothers, and a baby sister

I Also Have 4 Uncles, 0 Aunts, and 4 Cousins

My Pets Include 3 dogs, and 2 cats

(New Journal January 1 2042)

This Journal Belongs to Juliet Vargas (Verona)

I Am 12 Years Old (looks)

I Live in 3 Villas one near Stuttgart Germany,another near Florence Italy, and the most quaint in Aosta Italy

I Have dirty blond Hair and auburn brown Eyes

My Family Includes Papa,Vater, twin older brothers,alittle sister, and a baby brother

I Also Have 4 Uncles, 0 Aunts, and 6 Cousins

My Pets Include 3 dogs,5 cats, and a Rabbit

(New Journal January 1 2046)

This Journal Belongs to Juliet Vargas (Verona)

I Am 16 Years Old (looks)

I Live in 2 Villas one near Stuttgart Germany and the most safe in Aosta Italy

I Have Dirty Blond Hair and Auburn Brown Eyes

My Family Includes Papa, Vater, twin older brothers, a little sister, and alittle brother

I Also Have 3 Uncles, 0 Aunts, and 6 Cousins

My Pets Include 2 Dogs, 3 Cats, and2 Rabbits

(New Journal May 1 2049)

This Journal contains the record of the last years of the war and how our now broken family managed to survive through it, despite our immense grief over the loss of Papa. It also contains the artwork and poetry I created during that time. ~JV

This Journal Belongs to Juliet Vargas (Verona)

I Am 16 Years Old (looks)

I Live in a Villa near Stuttgart Germany 

I Have Dirty Blond Hair and Auburn Brown Eyes

My Family Includes Vater, Twin older brothers, a little sister, and a little brother

I Also Have 2 Uncles, 0 Aunts, and 6 Cousins

My Pets Include 4 Dogs

(New Journal January 1 2052)

This journal was a present from Uncle Antonio who said it was high time I started writing in a book that didn't hold so many painful memories in its earlier pages. I hope that I can make him happy by only filling this journal with happy, funny, and uplifting entries. ~JV

This Journal Belongs to Juliet Vargas (Verona)

I Am 17 Years Old (looks)

I Live in 2 Villas one near Berlin Germany and another in Aosta Italy

I Have Dirty Blond Hair and Auburn Brown Eyes

My Family Includes Vater, Twin Older Brothers, Little Sister Ariana, and Little Brother Michael

I Also Have 2 Uncles, 0 Aunts, and 6 Cousins

My Pets Include 3 dogs and 4 Kittens


	3. Temporary Hiatus

Sorry bout this. A new story idea just won't leave me alone so I have to give in to it and in the meantime my other stories are on hiatus. Don't fret, this isn't forever (I hope). And I am considering having challenges at the end of each chapter of the new story where the first person who answers correctly can request one of the other stories to be worked on (worked on mind you...not necessarily updated). Please forgive me and enjoy the new story.


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